The Cure
by lovecorrah
Summary: After Tom Hiddleston has to take his sick niece to the pediatrician, he strikes up a fancy for the beautiful Doctor. The more he finds out about Olivia (Livi), the more he wants to know. How will he react when secrets about her past come to light?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Where in the world did this fog come from?" Livi said out loud, as she slowed her car's speed. Since moving to London three months ago she had tried to get used to the weather, but this December's cold wetness was absolutely chilling her to the bone. With one hand she carefully steered her red Volkswagen Golf down Whitechapel Road, and with the other she tightened her cream colored chunky knit scarf around her neck… today was absolutely _freezing_ , and the heating didn't exactly work very well in this used car.

Her destination came into view… an enormous blue, glass building— The Royal London Hospital. Livi had been spending a lot of time at this hospital since arriving in London, so she could have glided into a spot in the parking garage with her eyes closed. She pulled her grey wool peacoat tightly around her body, grabbed her bag, and made her way inside, smiling and greeting the people she met along the way. She truly loved going to her job everyday, never minding her long hours, or any of the other hazards that went along with her career.

"Morning, Claire! What kind of appointments do we have on the schedule this morning?" She asked the blonde nurse, as she entered the office. Not only was Claire Livi's nurse, she had become a very good friend.

"Morning, Dr. Beckett… so far, we've got 3 sore throats, a possible case of pink eye, and a sprained ankle…"

"Well…That's doable." Livi grinned as she slipped out of her thick coat, revealing baby blue scrubs and a white and gold stethoscope curled around her neck.

"Mm-hmm." Claire agreed. "So, what did you do this weekend, Doc?"

Livi tried to brush off the question. "Oh... I went to a party downtown... you know... at that club."

"Um... _that_ club? Righhht." Claire could see right through her. "What did you _really_ do?"

With an exasperated huff, Livi answered. "Fine... Saturday I worked A&E, and Sunday I binge-watched Netflix. Is that okay with you?"

Claire giggled. "I admire you, Doc. You give your Saturdays to this hospital— _unpaid_ Saturdays I might add, to work in that clinic... but really, you've been here for three months. Isn't it time you met some people? Got out of your apartment and had some fun? Spent some time away from this hospital?"

Livi took her white lab coat off the hook on the wall, pulling a loose thread out of the navy embroidery that read 'Dr. Olivia Beckett, Paediatrics.' "For your information, Dr. Phil, I love what I do... I don't mind working Saturdays... so just get off my back, will you? Now, give me 10 minutes, and bring back my first patient, please."

"You got it, Doc." The blond nurse winked, before turning back to her computer screen.

Livi walked into her office, and closed the door behind her. She sat behind her dark wooden desk— at least, she thought there was a desk beneath underneath all that paperwork— and pulled her thermos of coffee and plastic baggie of weetabix cereal from her bag. "Mmm… breakfast of champions." She rolled her eyes as she took a big swig of hot, strong, black coffee, and popped a couple pieces of the chocolate cereal into her mouth. She booted up her computer, and looked at the schedule… yup, 3 sore throats, pink eye, and a sprained ankle. _Let's get this show on the road._

She saw her first two patients, both young boys, with a viral infection that had been going around at the same daycare. She gave them each a prescription for a cough syrup, and told them to take paracetamol for their fevers… basic stuff… and sent them on their way.

Livi stood at the nurse's station in the center of the examination rooms, filling out the last patient's chart, and heard a very worried, deep, male voice coming down the hall.

"Yes, I gave her paracetamol last night and this morning, but her fever hasn't broken yet…"

She could tell that the man was distressed and nervous, as most people were when their children were sick. She glanced back to the dark blond-headed man, who carried a young girl in his arms. His face was pained and his eyes were narrowed, as he looked down on the girl. "It's going to be alright, sweetheart."

Livi watched as Claire led the man and girl into an exam room, and after a few minutes, she came out and handed her the file.

"So, what's going on?" She asked the nurse.

"High fever… won't eat… headache."

Livi nodded as she began to walk toward the exam room, before she heard Claire behind her. "Doc, you know who that is, right?"

"Um… no. Who?"

"That man… that's _Tom Hiddleston_ … you know, the _actor_. I tried my best to keep my composure as I asked him questions." Claire blushed.

"Ohhh… okay." Livi didn't know who Tom Hiddleston was. She didn't have much time to go to movies, and she kinda kept to herself for the most part because she worked so much.

She knocked on the door, and peeked in. The man sat on the pink plastic covered bench with the small girl's head in his lap. His blue eyes perked up with she entered the room.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Beckett. It's nice to meet you." She extended her hand to the man, and he took her hand, reciprocating the greeting.

"Likewise, Dr. Beckett. I'm Tom."

"Okay, Tom, so what do we have going on here? Is this your daughter?"

"Oh, um… no, no. This is my Kate, my niece. My sister went out of town for three days and entrusted me with her daughter… she's sick, and I'm a nervous wreck. I don't know what to do! I can't get her fever to break, and she won't eat or drink. I'm worried!"

Livi nodded, and went to her knees before the sick girl. "It'll be okay." She smiled up at Tom, trying to calm him, before turning her attention to Kate. "Hi, sweetie. We're going to help you feel better, okay?"

The small girl nodded.

"So your name is Kate? What a beautiful name. My middle name is Kate."

The small girl smiled slightly at the doctor, who was now sitting on the floor in front of her.

"Should she get on the exam table? Would that help?" Tom asked.

"Oh, no… I can tell that she feels terrible. Let her stay where she is."

Tom smiled warmly at the brunette doctor. Usually doctors weren't this personable… _or_ this pretty.

"Okay, I'm going to look in your ears, first. Then, we'll move onto your throat." She looked into little Kate's ears as she grimaced at the sight. "Has she been having trouble sleeping?"

"Yes, I'd say so. She hardly slept at all last night."

"Mmm-hmm… and how old is she?"

"She's six. Is everything okay?"

Livi nodded her head. "She has acute otitis media."

"Oh, no! Is that bad?"

"She'll be fine! She's got an ear infection. Her poor little ear is so red inside, and she has quite a bit of fluid trapped behind her eardrum. Everything else looks okay, and that explains all her symptoms. I'll write her a prescription for an oral antibiotic, and some medicine to drop into that ear to help clear all the infection and fluid out. After the first couple of doses, she should feel much, much better. Keep giving her paracetamol to help control her fever."

"Oh, thank goodness." He rubbed Kate's head lightly.

Livi continued. "Until then, make sure she's getting _plenty_ of fluids…" She looked down to Kate. "Make your Uncle buy you some popsicles, okay? The strawberry ones are _my_ favorite!" She winked at the small, blond girl, making her giggle slightly.

Livi sat down on her stool in the exam room, and began to write the prescriptions. "Okay, Mr. Hiddleston-"

"Please call me Tom."

"Okay… _Tom_. Here's the prescriptions. Get them filled quickly so she can get started on her meds. She'll feel much better very soon, I know it." Now that she could get a better look at Tom, she noticed that he was, indeed, very attractive. She watched his twinkling blue eyes behind his glasses as he spoke, now a little brighter because he knew his niece would be okay, and his huge, pearly white smile. She could see a navy sweater peeking out from beneath his wool coat, and he wore dark jeans, and grey suede boots.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Beckett… I feel much better now." He grinned up at her as she handed him the slips of paper.

"I'm so glad. Please let me know if I can help in any way… and let me know if she doesn't get any better in the next day or so."

Tom nodded as he slipped the papers in his back pocket and helped Kate up. "Come on, little darling, let's get you to the car."

"Feel better, Kate!"

She heard a small English "thank you" come from the little girl, and smiled at her sweet face, as the pair walked through the door, and out of Livi's small part of the clinic.

"See, I told you!" Claire said as she took Kate's chart from the doctor.

"Told me what?"

"That he was cute…"

Livi laughed. " _Oh._ Yeah… just another patient."

"Uh-huh… well, if I wasn't married, I'd be flirting with that man."

Livi shook her head and snickered. "Let's be professional, here… You're _so_ bad."

"Mmm-hmm… I would be… with _him_." Claire winked.

"Ohhkayy… why don't you stop daydreaming, and go get my next patient?"

After two more appointments, three walk-in patients, and spending way too much time adding their information to their charts, Olivia traded her lab coat for her winter coat, and slowly climbed back into her car, feeling the affects of the long day in her sore feet. She sighed, and turned the car key, bringing the car to life… well, as much life as the poor car had left, anyway. Sometimes, the headlights didn't exactly work as they should, which was the case tonight. She grumbled quietly, as she pulled to the curb in front of her building. The one bedroom flat she was renting wasn't the most elegant place, but for the amount of time she was here, it worked just fine. It was actually nicer than some of the places she had seen, so she was thankful for that.

As she made it to the fourth floor of her building, she let her bags fall to the floor as she plopped down into her fluffy chair. She should be used to being on her feet a lot, but these long days still got to her sometimes. She slipped her shoes off, and stripped her scrubs from her body as she padded to the shower. She knew that would make her feel much better, and as she washed her medium-length brunette hair, she thought back through the day. Immediately, she thought of little Kate. She hoped the sweet girl felt better soon. And then… she thought of Kate's _Uncle_. He was such a sweet guy, and she could really tell that he loved his niece very much. Her eyes drifted closed as she washed the rest of her body… he was so tall and handsome, even as his dark brows furrowed with worry.

Apparently, he was a celebrity. Livi didn't know how _big_ of a celebrity though, as she didn't really keep up with Hollywood. She was much too busy, and either worked, or slept. Claire sure seemed to like him. Livi giggled at the remembrance of her friend salivating over him earlier. Hmm… she wondered what movies _Mr. Celebrity_ had been in? Looks like an investigation on Netflix was in order! She hurried to get into her pj's, which tonight consisted of an oversized Little Mermaid sleep shirt that she had picked up at Primark, and twisted her damp hair up into a topknot. She popped a pod of coffee into her Keurig, and grabbed a couple chocolate biscuits as she waited on her coffee to brew. She grabbed her mug of black coffee and her laptop, and headed to her sanctuary… her _bed._

She took a bite of one of her biscuits, and typed his name in the search box. _Tom Hiddleston._ A couple different shows came up, but she quickly got sucked into the addictive black hole that is Wallander. She got comfortable in her bed, and smiled widely as she first saw Tom on the screen. He looked very different then, and he played a sweet, young, sometimes sassy character named Magnus Martinsson. She giggled at his curly hair, and before she knew it, she had been up all night watching it. She repeated the next night with Thor and Unrelated, and the next with War Horse and Midnight in Paris, finally collapsing from sleepiness the fourth night after The Deep Blue Sea and The Avengers.

The next morning, she woke and stretched as much as she could. It was Friday, and for that she was so glad. Maybe she'd be able to catch up on her sleep over the weekend. She promised herself no more movies with _Mr. Celebrity_ in them. He was much too distracting…and she was thankful that she'd _never_ have to see him again. She didn't usually share Claire's tastes, especially in men, but she agreed with drooling over this one.

She showered, had some breakfast, and went to her closet to pick out her clothes for the day. Fridays were short, as they were only open half the day, so she opted for actual clothes underneath her lab coat instead of scrubs. Today she picked out a black sweater, tan skinny jeans, and tall, black riding boots. With a chunky statement necklace, a quick fingering through her wavy hair, and a smidge of makeup she was ready to go. She made it to the hospital in record time, and was greeted by a smiling Claire as she walked into the clinic.

"Morning, Doc!"

"Morning, Claire. What does this morning look like? Busy?"

"Not too bad… five appointments."

Livi yawned. "That's good."

"Why are you so tired, Olivia?" The nurse looked at her with a knowing look on her face. "Have you been staying up late?"

"Of course not… I'm not tired… I just haven't completely woken up yet. I need my coffee."

"Hmm… have you been staying up late watching a certain someone on Netflix?"

Livi's mouth dropped open as a vivid crimson blush spread across her cheeks. "Oh, come on, Claire. No!"

Claire giggled as she watched her friend hurry into her office, slamming the door once she was safely on the other side.

The day was going normally and Livi just had one more appointment left, and then she was off for the weekend. Before she could go into the exam room, Claire stopped her. "You've got a phone call, doc."

"Oh? Who is it?" She asked as she watched a wicked grin crop up on the nurse's face, making her blue eyes sparkle wildly.

"It's Mr. Celebrity."

" _No!_ " Livi said as her stomach lurched up into her throat. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "What the hell does he want?"

"How should I know? He asked for you!"

Livi tried to calm herself as her fingers wrapped around the handle of the clinic telephone. "Doctor Beckett." She answered confidently, though inside she was anything but.

"Doctor Beckett, hello, Tom Hiddleston, here." That deep, velvety voice quite literally dripped through the mouthpiece of that old phone, and landed in a puddle of sex right at her feet..

"Hello, Tom. What can I do for you? Is Kate not feeling better?"

"Oh, no, Kate is perfectly well, thank you! She's gone back to my sister already. She began feeling better that very night. We went all over London looking for those strawberry popsicles you mentioned. She's convinced that's what made her well." He laughed into the phone.

"Oh, well, that's great! So glad she's better. Is there anything else I can help you with?" I twirled the once-white-but-now-cream-colored phone cord around my pointer finger.

"Yes, actually there is. I've had a bit of an accident."

"An accident?"

"Yes… you see, I began the second leg of Coriolanus at the Donmar last night… to make a long story short, a few minutes ago I was in my dressing room and I had bent over to grab my bag before the door was opened, nipping me in the head."

"Your… _head_?" I asked, unbelieving.

"Ehehe… yes, it seems I have a bit of a gash in my forehead."

"Um… a _gash_? Why are you on the phone with me? Shouldn't you be getting that checked out?"

"Well, yes, but I go on stage in a few short hours, and I don't really have the time to visit A&E. Do you think you could come by the Donmar and look at it for me? I may need a stitch… or two."

"Tom… I'm a pediatrician."

He laughed. "I know that. How many children's chins have you stitched?"

"Too many to count."

"There you go… same thing! I wouldn't be asking if I didn't trust you."

"Well…"

"You'd be doing me a tremendous favor, love."

 _Well, that's just playing dirty._ "Fine… I have another appointment now, but I can be there in an hour or so."

"I owe you one… really."

I sighed. "Yes, you do. Where's the Donmar?"

" _Really_? You don't know where the Donmar is?" He asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

"No, I don't! I've only been here three months, and going to the theatre hasn't exactly been at the top of my priority list."

"Ouch, darling! You just stomped on my tender Shakespearean heart!" He hissed, making me laugh. "Earlham Street… It couldn't be but maybe 10 minutes from the hospital. Just come to the stage door down from the entrance."

I breathed deeply, wondering if I was really agreeing to do this. "Okay. I'll see you in an hour."

"Can't wait… oh, and by the way, Doctor Beckett, I'm bleeding _profusely_ , so please hurry."

I giggled. "Oh, dear… I'll try."

With a "fantastic!" he hung up. He actually had a sense of humor when he wasn't worried sick about his niece.

"Claire, hurry and bring back my next appointment! Apparently, I have a bleeding actor to go save…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

After Olivia's last patient left, and she finished entering information into the little girl's chart, she gathered her medical supplies and stuffed them in her brown, leather doctor's bag. She smiled, as she thought of her little sister who gave her the bag as a gift when she graduated medical school. Livi know she had to have saved up for a very long time for such a lavish gift, so she took extra special care of it, and thought of her every time she used it. She missed her…

"Claire, I'm out of here! Have a great weekend!" She waved goodbye to the nurse.

"Oh, no, wait! What did Mr. Celebrity want when he called?"

"Oh… he was just giving me an update on his niece." She answered.

"Hmm… are you _sure_? Why are you grinning like that?"

"I'm sure! I'm just happy 'cause it's Friday! I'm not working this weekend, so I'm gonna catch up on some sleep… that makes me happy… and _that's_ why I'm grinning." Olivia winked at her nurse.

With an unbelieving nod, Claire let the Doctor pass. Olivia was glad she was in the clear when the clinic door slammed behind her… Claire always asked too many questions for her own good.

Finally Olivia found her way to the Donmar, and found a parking lot a block away. She enjoyed her walk to the warehouse, even though the weather was rather frigid. She just clutched her coat around herself, and tried not to trip over the cobblestone path. The stage door on the side of the building came into view, and so did the small crowd of people around it. As Olivia passed through the crowd, she heard the murmurs from the people… "Have you heard if Tom is coming out after the show tonight?" and "I really have to pee, but I am _not_ giving up my spot here, just in case we get to see him…"

She raised her eyebrows and her hand knocking lightly on the door. After a moment, the door cracked open and a brown eye peeked out.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

"Um… I'm Dr. Beckett… here for… Tom." Olivia said quietly as she lifted her Doctors bag and jiggled it in front of the man.

The door closed for a moment, which awkwardly left the group of people watching her intently. She could feel the gaze of one young woman, so she turned her head to smile slightly at her.

"Are you his girlfriend?"

"Hmm?" Olivia had heard the young woman, she was just shocked that she had been so outspoken. "Oh! Oh, no… I'm just a doctor."

"Is something wrong with him?" The young woman seemed genuinely concerned.

"Uhh… no… he's fine." She didn't know how to answer that question.

"So… why are you here?"

Livi bit her lip and looked back to the door wishfully. _Please door, open…_

The heavy black door opened again, and a large man stood there… she matched him with the brown eye that peeked out at her a moment ago. "Okay, come in."

"Thank you…" _Really, he had no idea how glad she was that he opened the door at that exact moment._

"Tom's in his dressing room in make-up… but I'll take you to him." The large man said, as he looked back on her.

"Okay, thanks…." Livi said lackadaisically as she looked around. She could hear people on stage practicing lines, and the clanging of metal against the hard floor. She had never been into theatre, but this was kinda interesting. The slight stage dust in the air almost twinkled with the lights…

The man stopped beside a door, and held his arm out motioning for Livi to enter. "He's through there."

She nodded and quietly stepped through the door. She was in what she figured to be a large theatre dressing room, with make-up all over the place, props, and a plaid couch that had probably seen it's better days. She didn't immediately see Tom, but there seemed to be a bathroom off of the dressing room, and she could hear his voice mingled in with a woman's drifting out.

"Tom?" She asked as she quietly knocked on the bathroom door. When she peeked her head inside, she saw him sitting in a chair, with a plate on his lap, scarfing down a grilled chicken salad, and a beautiful woman worked on some wound makeup on his left arm.

"Ah! The good doctor is here." He said as he winked sat her. "Jasmine, could you give us a bit?"

The woman smiled as she obliged, and passed me in the doorway. I got a good look at her lovely tattoos as she passed me, and cringed a bit in jealousy… sometimes I wished that my profession wasn't as strict as it was.

He placed what was left of his salad dish on the table beside his chair, and grinned at her as he pointed to his forehead. "Well? Am I going to make it? What do you think?"

 _Oh, yeah… that. She was just standing here staring, completely forgetting what she came for._

"Let's take a look and see. I'd hate for them to have to cancel the show because the seemingly immortal lead actor perished from a head wound."

He laughed. "Mmm-hmm. That's what I thought, too."

She cleared her throat as she placed her bags on the floor beside his chair, and timidly stepped between his long legs to get a closer look. "Does it hurt?" She asked as she wrinkled her nose, and pulled the piece of gauze that had been there off.

Tom's head suddenly went blank for a moment as he watched her face mere inches from his… her beautiful, twinkling brown eyes, and her full lower lip as she bit it… then she did the wrinkly-nose thing, and that completely threw him off. "Um… no, not really. Not anymore. It hurt when it happened, I felt like my whole blasted head was going to fall off."

"Aw, you poor thing." She giggled. "Well, you do indeed need a stitch. I think you really only need one, though, maybe two. I'll know more after I start."

He nodded. "I was afraid of that. Well… how do you want me?"

She wished her mind didn't go to places it shouldn't. "Well, you'll need to be lying down." _Oh, Jesus._

"How about the couch?" He asked as he nodded his head toward his dressing room.

"Um… yeah, that should work."

She pulled all her instruments, and things she'd need for the procedure from her bag, and set up a makeshift surgical suite right in his dressing room.

He watched as she methodically and perfectly laid everything out. "Do you think you'll really need all those things? I'm not too fond of needles…"

"Yep, I will. And really, Tom, I should have made you go to A&E. These aren't the most sanitary conditions."

"I know, I know. I told you that I'd owe you one."

"Just don't sue me, please." She chuckled. After trying a couple different positions, Olivia finally found a comfortable position, with Tom's head resting in her lap, tilted back a smidge. She reached over, pulling the table to the edge of the couch, before pulling on her latex gloves. "I need to clean it up some, since it's been open for hours."

"Yes, darling, do what you need to." He closed his eyes in nervous anticipation of what was to come.

Livi cleaned the outside of the split skin as carefully as possible, while trying to control the bleeding. "Now… for the lidocaine. This will sting."

His eyes shot open as he looked up to her with a needle full of clear liquid, and she could see his large hands clutch the fabric of his black Jordan pants.

"Are you really afraid?"

"Well… just a bit."

"Just look into my eyes. It'll be over with before you know it." She smiled warmly at him.

He did as she asked, looking deeply into the pretty doctor's eyes. He noticed that they weren't exactly brown, as they had a lot of bright gold running through them, and they were absolutely stunning. Her eyes darted back and forth between the gash, and his crystal clear, cobalt colored eyes. She inserted the needle multiple times, making sure the area was completely numbed, and he didn't even flinch.

"Okay, see? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

To be honest, he was so mesmerized that he didn't even know she had done it. He shook his head, and breathed out a sigh of relief, all the same. "I didn't even feel it. You seem to have the touch, Doctor Beckett."

"Oh, call me Olivia."

"Okay then… Olivia." The way her name rolled off his tongue was absolutely beautiful.

"Now, for the stitch." She picked up the forceps and the needle holder, and quickly went to work before the medicine began to wear off.

"So, you said you had only been in London for three months?" He asked her, as he was much more relaxed now.

"Mmm-hmm…"

"Where did you come from?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just curious… just small talk, since my head is in your lap."

When she said nothing after that, he continued. "Well, whereabout do you live now?"

"I'm renting a flat… Dressage Court…"

"Oh, that's Bethnal Green, right?"

"Mmm-hmm…" She concentrated as she moved the needle through his skin.

"That area's a bit dodgy, isn't it?"

She shrugged. "No, it's okay. There are parts of it that aren't very good… but for the most part, it's just fine. It's kinda a mischievous little neighborhood. I don't mind it." He let his mind wander for a moment, as he wondered why a single, beautiful woman wasn't scared living in an area like that. "Can I ask what brought you to London, then? If you won't tell me where you came from…"

She smiled, he wasn't giving up. "I'm a locus tenens doctor… which means-"

"It means you travel, right?"

"Right…"

"That has to be hard, not really having a home for very long… before going somewhere else."

"I can't imagine that it's much different than what you do, though, Tom. You travel a lot, I'm sure."

"I guess so. How much longer will you be in London?"

"3 months."

"… and then?"

She shrugged again, as she began to tie a complex knot in the tiny stitch. "I'm not really sure. I'm waiting to get a place on a mercy ship to Africa… we'd set up surgical theaters on the ships, and perform surgeries all day… Or maybe the Doctors Without Borders thing… I'd just love to help people. I basically go where I'm needed."

"What about the people you love? Your family? Don't they hate you traveling like that?"

With a quick snip from the small steel scissors, she surveyed her work. "All done. One stitch… Let me just put a small bandage on it, okay?"

He nodded, noticing that she had completely avoided his question.

"Alright, sit up for a little while before you try and walk. I don't want you passing out on me."

He sat up, as he watched her pull her gloves from her hands, and begin to clean up the mess she had made. When she got everything into the small biohazard bag, she looked up at him. "You feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm great… Thank you again, Olivia. I really don't know what I would have done without you today."

"No problem."

"Why don't you stay for the performance?" He looked at his watch. "It begins in two hours. It would be my honor for you to be my guest. I'll put you right in the front row."

"Oh, I don't know…"

"I know it's not your bag, right?"

"My bag?" She giggled at his lingo.

"Come on… please, stay. It will be a new experience, if nothing else."

She had nothing else to do… and she _did_ like his company, when he wasn't prying into her business.

She sighed as she looked at her apple watch. "Well… I _guess_ I can. Besides, I need to make sure my patient doesn't take a turn for the worse."

"I agree. That's what any good doctor would do."

She tried to stay out of the way for the rest of the afternoon, as a tornado of action happened. His makeup was finished— the artist did a splendid job of blending his small bandage into his forehead, and he got into costume, finally kicking Olivia out of the dressing room and into the buzzing, electric audience of the large room. The stage was mere inches from her toes, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was so excited about watching the show.

The lights began to dim, as both of their hearts began to race… it was _showtime_ …


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As the lights came up, Olivia squirmed in her seat with surprised excitement… it surprised _her_ that she was excited about _this_ … but she was, and she didn't know if it was the atmosphere, the quiet hush of the crowd, the nervous tension in the room, or the man that invited her to sit in this very seat that was turning her stomach into a big 'ol knot.

The play began with a man and woman having an angry go at each other on stage, and then Tom barged into the scene. Commanding and intimidating, Caius Martius stepped onto the floor. This was not the Tom she had been with just a few moments ago… softly laying in her lap as she stitched his forehead… this was someone else entirely. He had gotten so into the role, and came onto the floor snarling, and yelling so loudly that Olivia jumped slightly in her seat. She was perched so closely to the action that she could see the look in his eyes that he had just gained over the last few minutes, powerful… and a bit crazy.

Before she knew it, he was ascending a ladder, and after a moment came in from the wings covered in fake blood. Of course, as a doctor, Olivia nearly jumped out of her seat to help him… but she remembered, it was a play, and that was part of looked convincing enough though, and she spent her career trying to _keep_ people from being covered in blood. She shuddered a bit looking at him like that. _It was fake, Olivia, calm down._ He closed his eyes, and clenched his fist while the blood was dripping off of him onto the floor and softly, convincingly uttered "O, me alone! Make you a sword of me?" Olivia sighed. This man had much more talent than she gave him credit for.

She hoped to goodness that his stitches would hold up during the fight scene with Aufidius… and she cringed every time Tom was hit or flipped onto his back… and then, the _water._ She had no idea that he was going to be under _running_ water on stage.

Olivia found herself grow a bit jealous when she watched the woman that played his wife wrap herself in his arms and kiss him. _Why?_ Livi didn't feel that way toward him… she didn't even know him— but, it had been so long since she had truly _been_ with anyone, that she grew jealous of most couples… even make-believe ones. She was never in one place long enough to have a very meaningful relationship, and she wondered if that was just her lot in life… helping every one else, to the detriment of herself?

She was startled back to reality, when Tom walked across the stage in a cream-colored sheer cotton gown. Was he… _naked_ under that thing? She squinted her eyes, trying to figure it out, and giggled to herself. This had suddenly become much more interesting that she had intended. She noticed many other eyes doing to same thing, and suddenly she diverted hers to her pink fingernails. He was really and truly putting his heart and soul, sweat and tears into the performance, and he deserved better. She felt her phone vibrate in her bag, but she knew it was almost intermission, so she decided to finish out the scene before checking her messages, as she didn't want to be disrespectful. When the sad scene finished, and the lights came back up, she reached into her bag and pulled her phone from it, before putting to her ear to listen to her voicemail.

"Dr. Beckett, this is Dr. Morgan. We are overrun in A&E, so I need you to come in, if at all possible. It must a full moon, because the clinic is full of freak accidents! I'll expect to see you here within the hour…"

She rolled her eyes, and thought for a moment… she could always pretend that she didn't get the message. She would feel too guilty about that, though. She didn't want to just leave without telling Tom goodbye, but she knew he was busy. She reached into her bag and pulled her stationary pad from it. She jotted a quick note, and saw the large man that led her to Tom in the first place and approached him.

"Dr. Beckett." The man greeted her.

"Hi… umm… I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"James."

"Hi, James. Could you do me a favor? I have to leave suddenly." She handed the note to him. "Do you mind giving that to Tom, please? I don't want him to think I just left. That note explains why I'm leaving."

"I don't mind. I'll do it now. Have a nice night, Dr."

"Thanks." _Man, that guy is big._ He must be security of some sort. She didn't know if he was Tom's security, or the Donmar's…

The night wore on, both in the Donmar theatre, _and_ the surgical theatre. There had been terrible accident after accident that night, upon everything else, and Olivia could barely keep up. She spent hours assessing patients, and treating their wounds, whether they needed stitches themselves, or had broken bones, or even admission into the hospital. One final accident happened after midnight, that brought 4 people into A &E. Besides she and Dr. Gordon, who was a middle aged man, another young doctor was brought in… a surgeon— Dr. Miles Brock. He was an attractive, tall man, with large hands, but they worked miracles under pressure. He also had long hair, that he kept up in a tight bun beneath his surgical cap, as per hospital rules. Livi had assisted him in surgery many times before when she filled in in A&E, and they worked well as a team, even under the worst circumstances— her tiny hands could sometimes get into spaces that his couldn't.

This accident, however, was the worst she had seen since she had arrived in London. Fortunately, there was only one automobile involved in the accident, but each person was critical. Two people were sent to their hospital, and the other two were sent to a hospital a few miles away, and Miles and Olivia got the worst ones. She started getting the woman stabilized, as she heard Miles calling her loudly from the surgical suite. The nurses took over the care of the woman, as Livi ran down the hall. She didn't even have time to get into her surgical gear, before Miles began giving her orders.

"We've got to hurry, we're gonna lose him. Start on CPR, I've got to figure out what's going on." The man yelled toward her.

She nodded and jumped up onto the table to position herself to straddle the man and began CPR. After 30 chest compressions, she leaned forward, pinched the man's nose and breathed into his mouth twice, watching his chest rise and fall with each one.

"Come on… come on…" She chanted as she began compressions again. The man wasn't responding, even after several rounds of this cycle, and she tried to block out the drone of the flatline buzz on the man's monitor. All she could think about was the fact that the man was married to the woman in the other room… if Livi didn't succeed in bringing the man back, the other patient would be a widow… all too early.

"Olivia, his heart's stopped. He's gone!"

"No! Try the defibrillator!"

"He's gone, Livi."

"Try it. At least try. Please!"

"Fine. Watch out." Miles sighed as Olivia jumped from the table and backed away, hoping to goodness that the defibrillator would work. He put a paddle in each hand. "Charging…" He pressed the paddles to the man's chest. "Clear."

The defibrillator delivered the electric shock to the man, making his body convulse from the current.

The other Doctor shook his head. "Charging… clear." He attempted it again… nothing.

She watched the monitor hopefully, wanting to see that pulse begin again. "Just give him a second, Miles."

"It's no use. He's gone, Livi."

"If you're not going to try, then I will. _Move!_ " She yelled as she positioned herself on top of the man again, restarting CPR.

Miles watched her for a moment before pulling her from the man. "Let it _go_. He's gone. We tried. We did all we could do. He was nearly dead when he got here."

Her mouth hung open as she looked between the doctor, and the man on the table. "You're just giving up?"

Miles nodded. "I know when it's too late."

From the door, Dr. Gordon spoke, as he had heard the exchange between Livi and Miles. "Dr. Beckett, everyone else has been stabilized. Why don't you go on home— I know you're tired. Thank you for trying."

She nodded slightly, as she walked from the room, and pulled her bags from the locker room. She hadn't even gotten the chance to change into scrubs that night, so her pants were stained with blood and her sweater was covered in no-telling-what. She passed through the automatic A&E door, but she heard someone call her name as she passed the threshold.

"Livi, wait."

She turned to see Miles running toward her, pulling his surgical cap from his head, exposing his dark blonde hair. "Hey… don't go home upset. We tried. You know this happens sometimes. It's not the first, and it won't be the last. You're a wonderful doctor. You know this isn't your fault."

She nodded as she played with the rocks on the concrete of the parking lot with her boots. She knew if she thought much more about it, or looked at Miles, her resolve to stay strong would fail. "I know. I'm tired… I'm gonna go."

"Livi…. is that _Tom Hiddleston_ sitting on your car?"

Her head swirled around quickly to find her little red car… and _Mr. Celebrity_ sitting on it. He sheepishly waved at her when he saw her watching him.

"Bye, Miles." She turned from her doctor friend, and traipsed over to Tom, whose eyes grew wide when he saw her haggard look.

"I didn't know you worked with Thor…" He said playfully.

All she could do was roll her eyes. This wasn't a good time.

"What's happened to you?" Tom asked, as he eyed her bloody jeans.

She cleared her throat as she walked to the passenger side of her car and threw her bags into the seat. Her Doctor's bag still housed Tom's bloody gauze. "What are you doing here, Tom? It's 3 A.M."

"I know what time it is, darling. I just got done at the warehouse about an hour ago… and thought I'd come make sure you were okay." He held up the note she had left him. "Since you left the show early."

"Yeah, I know… I'm sorry. I got called into work. It's been a night from hell. I just lost a patient… there was nothing I could do for him. I did CPR, and we tried the defibrillator… but…"

"Oh, love… I'm so sorry." He jumped from the car and pulled her into a tight embrace.

She tried to resist, but she let herself relax a bit and bury her tired face in his chest. It smelled like he had just had a shower, and it felt so good to just be hugged… it had been far too long since someone had really wrapped their arms around her like that. She barely knew this man, but she was deriving comfort by being near him.

"Thanks." She replied quietly, but when he pulled back to look in her eyes, he could see they were filled with tears. "I'm gonna go home, Tom… I'm tired. Thank you for checking on me though."

"You can't go home like this, can you?"

"I always do."

"But… what if I don't _want_ you to be alone? I can see you're upset."

"I'll be fine… really. We're only 3 miles from my apartment."

"Well… at least let me follow you there and see you in… you know, for your safety." He said, effectually showing Livi the sweetest puppy dog face ever.

"I don't really even know you… how do I know that _you'll_ keep me safe?"

He chuckled. "I assure you, I'll be on my best behaviour."

She nodded slightly, as he grinned and headed toward a dark grey, expensive looking SUV. "I'll follow you, then." He yelled toward her as he slid into his vehicle. _Hmph, she figured he was more of a sports-car type of guy._

Within five minutes, she had pulled up at the curb of her building, with him pulling in tightly behind her. She supposed Tom was nice enough, after all, he cared enough to see her into her building after her long night, especially since she didn't exactly live in the nicest neighborhood.

"Here we are…" He grinned as he walked up to the passenger side of the car. "Let me carry your bags."

"It's okay, I can get them…"

"Why are you so stubborn, Olivia?" He asked as he leaned into the car.

"I'm not stubborn. I'm independent."

"Well… I respect that, but you'll put all independence aside for a moment. I told you that I was going to see you in, and I am. Now, I am going to carry your bags, because you've had a hard night, and you aren't going to argue, hear?"

If she had any energy left, she'd laugh… even though, it felt kind of good to be taken care of for a change.

The pair made it up the lift, and Livi turned to Tom expectantly. He raised his eyebrows in response to her stare.

"I'll need to get my keys so that I can get into my flat, and they're in the bag that you've got clutched so tightly under your arm."

"Ah… oh, yes, sorry." He grinned as he maneuvered her purse from his shoulder.

She was impressed. After all, it takes a _real_ man to carry a pink suede bag that confidently… especially one that had a little pink-haired, Japanese, Kokeshi Doll charm hanging from one of the handles. She bit her lip, and dug through her bag for a moment before pulling her keys from it— normally it took her longer than that to find her keys. Tom smiled when he saw her keychain which not only featured a Union Jack, but a bright red double-decker bus that read 'London' across it.

After a couple of jiggles, she finally pushed the door open and led him through a small hall, passing the door to the kitchen and into her rather bare living room. "Well, this is it… not much to it. I move too often to decorate very much." She smiled back at him as she deposited her bags on the fluffy, light grey couch.

"Well, it's nice. Rather big, for a flat in London."

She shrugged. "I mainly just sleep here, so it does the job."

He nodded as he looked back down to her ruined jeans. "I have an idea. Why don't you go take a shower? It would probably help your feelings."

"… and you're going to stay?"

"Yes, if you don't mind. I'd like you to take a look and make sure my stitches still look good after the performance tonight."

"Oh… well, okay. I'll be out in a few minutes. Make yourself at home." She said as she grabbed a few things from what he guessed was her bedroom, and disappeared into her bathroom.

Of course, he didn't really need for her to look at his stitches, he was just trying to come up with an excuse to stay for a little while. He wanted to make sure that Olivia was okay, since he knew she was upset. He didn't really know how she felt, but he imagined that losing a patient was probably the absolute worst part of her job— and even though he didn't know her that well, he enjoyed her company.

He looked around her living room a bit while she was occupied in the shower. She seemed to be very feminine, and her decor mirrored that. The couch was lined with pillows alternating between a grey and white chevron print, and a light, baby pink, and in front of the couch sat a nice, white coffee table with a small fern on it. Above the couch, hung a large canvas of Audrey Hepburn in her iconic role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast At Tiffany's, and on the opposite wall was a large bookshelf full of a mixture of hard-backed fiction, non-fiction, and medical manuals.

He wandered into the kitchen, and looked in the refrigerator, not finding much… he barely found a package of loose Darjeeling tea, and filled her electric kettle with water, flipping the switch to begin to heat the water. In her cabinet, he found a lovely tea set that looked different than the ones he had seen before. It was a matte black, but had lovely porcelain on the lid of the pot, and on the insides of the cups, and on the porcelain were what looked like purple watercolor flowers, with bright green stems. As soon as the kettle alerted him of the hot water, he added it to the teapot, along with the silver strainer, and some of the tea, and put the lid on to let it steep. He added some biscuits to a plate, and placed them along with the pot on the living room coffee table.

He took a seat on the couch, and picked up the book that rested on her coffee table… _The Book of Everything: A Visual Guide to Travel and the World_. He was just learning about how to avoid being sucked into quicksand when he heard her enter the room. His stunning blue eyes quickly found her brown ones, but not before surveying her very short black jogger shorts and long-sleeved pink and turquoise tie-dyed t-shirt. Her dark hair was wet from the shower, and her face was clean of the makeup she had been wearing.

She had been watching him for longer than he knew, as she couldn't bear to disturb him. He had obviously been busy making tea and putting her favorite snack on a plate for her. That was literally the sweetest gesture anyone had ever done for her, and she didn't quite know how to react. She watched his face as he read, his eyebrows furrowing when he came to a particularly interesting spot, trying to retain the knowledge he was picking up from the travel book. One of his large hands held the hardback, and the other gently ran through his haphazardly styled hair.

"Hi." She said quietly as she entered the room.

"Hello, there. I've already learned how to get myself out of quicksand, but I'm afraid you just interrupted my learning about how to defend myself from an alligator."

"Oh no…" She giggled as she plopped down on the couch beside him. "This is very sweet." She pointed to the tea and biscuits.

"Oh, think nothing of it, love… I was going to cook some food for you, but I couldn't find anything in your kitchen besides stale bread and Salt and Vinegar crisps."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I know… sorry… it's rare that I eat at home. Don't worry, Hobnobs are my favorite, anyway."

"Good." He laughed as he scooted forward to pour her a cup of tea, before holding it out to her. "Here you are, darling. You know, it's not often that I have black tea at 4 a.m."

"Isn't any time a good time for tea here?" She smiled as she took the teacup from his agile fingers.

"Well, I suppose so."

"Mmm… that's so good." She closed her eyes as the hot tea coated her throat and warmed her insides. After a glorious moment, she came back to reality. "I don't think I'll ever learn to brew a good cup of tea." She pulled her legs underneath her body to sit on them. "How's your head? I'm sorry, with everything that's happened, I haven't thought to ask."

"It's fine. Stings a little, but it's nothing I can't handle. I think I'll survive." He thought he was being witty until he saw the look on her face. He hadn't thought about what he was saying before it slipped from between his lips. "Oh… oh, no… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay…" She said as she placed her teacup on the table and took off to her kitchen. She wasn't gone for long before she reappeared with a half empty (or half-full?) bottle of cold scotch whisky, and two clear glass tumblers. She noticed the wide-eyed, shocked expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Tom. I need something a little stronger for now… I brought you a glass."

He nodded slowly. "Oh-kay… I didn't see that when I looking into your refrigerator."

"Hmph. Must've been hiding behind the stale bread." She quipped as she handed him a glass.

"You don't want to eat before you drink that?" He asked, wondering if this was a good idea.

"Nope… I don't. Cheers…" She held up her glass and looked at him expectantly.

He laughed and shook his head. Whether it was a good idea or not, it was happening. "Cheers, darling."


End file.
